Former Penobscot chief will speed hike from Mount Washington to Mount KatahdinBarry Dana's journey during the Katahdin 100 will be done in honor of his late uncle, Cliff Phillips.

...The 100-mile journey has been followed by the tribe for centuries, said former Penobscot chief Barry Dana, although the modern inception of the Katahdin 100 dates to 1971. Dana, 58, has completed it each year.

But this year Dana will take a different – and far more challenging – route to the 5,267-foot Mount Katahdin, the central and spiritual place in the Penobscot’s aboriginal territory. He will attempt to hike the 314 miles from Mount Washington to Katahdin in eight days, covering 39 miles a day.

It’s not quite the pace of the world’s fastest trail hikers, called ultra runners, but it comes close. Last year Karl Meltzer of Utah broke the Appalachian Trail speed record, completing the 2,190-mile trail in less than 46 days and averaging 47 miles a day.

Dana completes 261-mile odyssey from Mount Washington to Katahdin in eight daysCovering an average of 32 miles a day to honor his late uncle, he finished in time for the Penobscot Nation's annual ceremony.

...He covered an average of 32 miles a day with a bad left ankle and shin that hurt start to finish, but his personal journey – made in honor of his late uncle – left him exalted, Dana said the week after.

The Katahdin 100 is a spiritual pilgrimage made by the Penobscot Nation every fall to honor their ancestors and heritage. For the first time, Dana this year made the journey from Mount Washington, where his uncle, Cliff Phillips, died in a plane crash during a snow storm in 1969.

Dana started after a sunrise ceremony in the Penobscot tradition at the base of Mount Washington, where a bonfire was built and prayers were said. From that fire, Dana took the ashes to carry from Mount Washington to Mount Katahdin, as a way to bring his uncle’s spirit home, since Katahdin is the Penobscot’s spiritual home.